Prospect Info: Round 1, Pick 13: Jett Luchanko, C, Guelph (OHL)

[Magua]

Genuinely don’t think you need more than 2 scouts on a team.

Looks like 1 of me, you, or Flyguy are cleaning the bathrooms!

That might be pushing it -- there's a lot of leagues out there across a lot of countries. I do agree that there can be too many cooks in the kitchen, but making scouting groups smaller can also lead to more bias reinforcement the wrong way. Having management establish drafting philosophies is important too, but does anyone believe Flahr isn't showcasing his drafting philosophies?

The biggest farce is that there's magic in scouting in person in the year of our lord 2024. All these guys fly from city to city and make obviously moronic choices that show up watching on your computer in high-def. I do think there's value in talking to the player or coaches on the ground. But a lot of NHL amateur scouting is a social activity with tenure.

 

[Jettany]

How do I know? Cause they do it all the time. Again man youre not reading my post. Let me bold it this time

Using the argument that a player is bad, or something must be wrong with him, because he was passed on by multiple teams is a poor way to evaluate players. This is the same argument that if a player is waived and not picked up he must also be bad. There does this help?

Time will tell if these 11 NHL gms made the right call or not, but the process here was all wrong. Flyers didnt pick based on talent but on need, they admitted this. This is what leads to good players being passed and then years later fans saying "how did they pass on that guy?!"

Doesn’t help at all. Who says that’s a way to evaluate a player? The pick is being evaluated. As to why he might have fallen. Have you watched a lot of his games? Where did you have him ranked? I did not. Someone drops from 3 or 4 to 12 it’s not bizarre to ask why? How was the process of these GMs all wrong? If they pass and he is an underachiever and they are right how can you call their decision wrong? You say you hate rankings but you are basing your opinions on these rankings. How does that make any sense? I can tell from your under tones you are a big G and Ghost fan. Am I right?

 

[BigToe]

Looks like 1 of me, you, or Flyguy are cleaning the bathrooms!

That might be pushing it -- there's a lot of leagues out there across a lot of countries. I do agree that there can be too many cooks in the kitchen, but making scouting groups smaller can also lead to more bias reinforcement the wrong way. Having management establish drafting philosophies is important too, but does anyone believe Flahr isn't showcasing his drafting philosophies?

The biggest farce is that there's magic in scouting in person in the year of our lord 2024. All these guys fly from city to city and make obviously moronic choices that show up watching on your computer in high-def. I do think there's value in talking to the player or coaches on the ground. But a lot of NHL amateur scouting is a social activity with tenure.

I just watched Luke Misa make it to the 5th round, breh. I think one guy could follow a chart without watching a single game and do better than these dinosaurs.

 

[FLYguy3911]

Genuinely don’t think you need more than 2 scouts on a team.

How many toes though.

I think one guy could follow a chart without watching a single game and do better than these dinosaurs.

 

[CerpinTaxt]

Doesn’t help at all. Who says that’s a way to evaluate a player? The pick is being evaluated. As to why he might have fallen. Have you watched a lot of his games? Where did you have him ranked? I did not. Someone drops from 3 or 4 to 12 it’s not bizarre to ask why? How was the process of these GMs all wrong? If they pass and he is an underachiever and they are right how can you call their decision wrong? You say you hate rankings but you are basing your opinions on these rankings. How does that make any sense? I can tell from your under tones you are a big G and Ghost fan. Am I right?

Dude I said it multiple times. Posters on this board and from what I've seen on twitter have been doing exactly what I've been saying, which is evaluating a player based on what happened during the draft. Im not saying I know how good he is, I dont have a ranking system I am saying that NHL gms have stupid decision making processes for why they pass on players. We saw it happen last year with Michkov. Nothing about the quality of player Michkov is made him fall to #7. Youre really just choosing to ignore what I've said now cause Ive made it pretty clear what my argument is.

 

[Beef Invictus]

How many toes though.

The second scout is for redundancy if the first scout has to poop

 

[Redpath]

48 hours later and I can still feel the pit in my stomach.

My God, I could have stomached taking Luchanko over Helenius at #13. I probably would have been intrigued by it and excited at the swing. But choosing to trade down from #12, with Buium falling into our laps, on the pretense of him being our 4th small-ish defenseman, is nauseating.

After all the excitement of Michkov coming over and the lead-up to this draft, the wind has been taken out of my sails.

 

[GapToothedWonder]

Flyers Center depth chart is bad. Couts is in a bad way. His injury and play over the last half of the season could be the elephant in the room (+ Laughton's future). Who do we have after these two:

Frost
Poehling
Laczynski
Barkey
Rizzo
Johansen

Not good. Internally the team knows it is is defcon 1 at C. The PP is also a hidden sleeper issue here. The PP has been so bad and a player like Jett does give more options for the PP.

God have mercy on our souls if in 5 years we are relying on Jett Luchanko saving us from a Rocky led bottom feeder PP.

 

[GapToothedWonder]

from Saskatchatoon

Dems fighting words

 

[Jettany]

Dude I said it multiple times. Posters on this board and from what I've seen on twitter have been doing exactly what I've been saying, which is evaluating a player based on what happened during the draft. Im not saying I know how good he is, I dont have a ranking system I am saying that NHL gms have stupid decision making processes for why they pass on players. We saw it happen last year with Michkov. Nothing about the quality of player Michkov is made him fall to #7. Youre really just choosing to ignore what I've said now cause Ive made it pretty clear what my argument is.

Not true. Your argument makes zero sense. And MM is the the perfect example. We know why he fell. His 3 year deal in Russia and “leaking” he wanted to go Philly. That’s the explanation. I haven’t seen one with this kid. And asked I wonder why. That’s all.

 

[BernieParent]

On the other side of the coin, Columbus, Montreal, Utah, Ottawa, Seattle, Calgary, NJ and San Jose all felt Buium wasn't the right choice at 4-11. The truth is we have no idea how these kids will turn out. Let's try to be positive.

San Jose passed on him twice. Major red flag.

 

[BernieParent]

He's trying to put a positive spin on a pick that the fanbase overall seems to hate. These are the type of picks that kill a GM in a year or two after they are made if they fall flat. He's already doing damage control. Great stuff.

Briere couldn't say that, as a result of their bungling of the Gauthier situation, they couldn't take the chance with another highly skilled client of the same agent.

 

[scumpup]

After having time to mull this pick over I have declared that the entire franchise should be sold to me.

Anyway, I think the agent + gauthier situation is the obvious answer at this point as to why Buium was passed. Now, the obvious answer for the team would be to then fire your staff because this is clearly unacceptable. How can you run a sports team while having entire talents blacklisted from poor relations? It isn't the precap world where you could just buy talent...

 

[CerpinTaxt]

Not true. Your argument makes zero sense. And MM is the the perfect example. We know why he fell. His 3 year deal in Russia and “leaking” he wanted to go Philly. That’s the explanation. I haven’t seen one with this kid. And asked I wonder why. That’s all.

Okay so we are on the same page then. Michkov falling had nothing to do with the quality of player he is. I don't know why Buium fell and given that Buium just finished his draft year as one of the best scoring collegiate defenseman, I'm going to guess it has nothing to do with his play

San Jose passed on him twice. Major red flag.

And here is an example of exactly what I've been saying. I'm not sure what BP means exactly with red flag, but he's using the fact that Buium dropped as an evaluation of the player, which if you read any of my posts I've been saying is a poor way to evaluate players. So continue to not answer anything I've written directly. Take care now

 

[Fight4yourRight]

After having time to mull this pick over I have declared that the entire franchise should be sold to me.

Anyway, I think the agent + gauthier situation is the obvious answer at this point as to why Buium was passed. Now, the obvious answer for the team would be to then fire your staff because this is clearly unacceptable. How can you run a sports team while having entire talents blacklisted from poor relations? It isn't the precap world where you could just buy talent...

I agree. It would be unacceptable, but it’s pure speculation at this point. Outwardly, it’s a bad look and outcome to pass on a top 5 talent and nothing that the Flyers have done recently gives them the benefit of the doubt. But it’s plausible, though again speculative, that the agent steered Zeev away from the Flyers earlier. Again, not necessarily blaming the agent or player as there are much more competent organizations out there. I’m just not sure how DB would explain another Gauthier situation so Jett was the safer, albeit wimpier choice. Come to think of it, is there any reports at all indicating the Flyers and Zeev had any interviews and interest in each other? The “we already have 3 smaller young (and significantly less talented) d-men” could have just been a rather poor smoke screen.

 

[Evergreen]

San Jose passed on him twice. Major red flag.

Surely you're not referring to SJ picking Celebrini 1OA as "passing on Luchanko." Because that would be an absurd take.

 

[thedjpd]

I agree. It would be unacceptable, but it’s pure speculation at this point. Outwardly, it’s a bad look and outcome to pass on a top 5 talent and nothing that the Flyers have done recently gives them the benefit of the doubt. But it’s plausible, though again speculative, that the agent steered Zeev away from the Flyers earlier. Again, not necessarily blaming the agent or player as there are much more competent organizations out there. I’m just not sure how DB would explain another Gauthier situation so Jett was the safer, albeit wimpier choice. Come to think of it, is there any reports at all indicating the Flyers and Zeev had any interviews and interest in each other? The “we already have 3 smaller young (and significantly less talented) d-men” could have just been a rather poor smoke screen.

I read rumors he wanted to stay in the mid west region.

It’s possible that MN was just the first team in the region that likes his game enough.

The other options was Chicago and they went with a different D choice as well.

I think there’s more to this story than we know - but it’s all speculation as we’ll never find out.

 

[FLYguy3911]

Like with Gauthier, the player can want to play anywhere he wants, but the drafting teams hold their rights for four years. None of these guys are waiting that long to start their NHL service clocks and second contracts.

 

[FromOyVey2Matvei]

Dude I said it multiple times. Posters on this board and from what I've seen on twitter have been doing exactly what I've been saying, which is evaluating a player based on what happened during the draft. Im not saying I know how good he is, I dont have a ranking system I am saying that NHL gms have stupid decision making processes for why they pass on players. We saw it happen last year with Michkov. Nothing about the quality of player Michkov is made him fall to #7. Youre really just choosing to ignore what I've said now cause Ive made it pretty clear what my argument is.

I think that you guys are on opposite extremes and the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

When a guy experiences a significant slide from where he was supposed to go and there isn’t an obvious reason (Russian signed to 3 year deal & refusing to meet with teams, or medical red flags, or being way undersized, etc.), there’s usually something there. I think the pro scouts usually end up being correct in those cases.

But I do agree that NHL GMs also have some dumb reasons for passing on players (see Gabe Perreault being passed over because he’s undersized, see where Denver Barkey went last year, etc.)

 

[volnoir]

I think the pro scouts usually end up being correct in those cases.

I would really love to see the detailed breakdown of this statement to back it up.

 

[MrGuyPerson]

I started reviewing this kids tape. I don't want it to sound like bashing so I will only say I am not impressed nor am I confident. I will end it with I can not tell what the Flyers scouts identified that made them think this kid was higher tier prospect than Helenius. That is the nicest way of saying Helenius is better at literally everything except maybe dangles and shooting and the gap there is miniscule. So yeah I'm concerned about their evaluation, but not sure who deserves my concern. Scouts or GM that made the pick.

I am happy they aquired more 1st round picks for 2025. The forward group looks like it should be deeper. Unfortunately after this draft, I have very little confidence in how the Flyers will use those picks. That said Hagens looks like a future superstar. Ryabkin was damn close to Demidov's age relative production, but Ryabkin is a guaranteed center with slightly less stick skills. Frondell I will need to review, but he is getting top 5 nods currently. McQueen... I really need to review further because Pronmam has him at 3 and I need to distinguish if that 3 is earned or handed out because he is a giant.

The biggest issue is that since Michkov is coming over I really doubt the Flyers(a team that barely missed playoffs) are some how worse next season. So, I guess we will where those picks even land. I wonder if they will still consider exploring adding via trade

 

[Kermit the Prog]

I generally don't wade into these types of discussions unless it's to drop in hilarious bon mots, BUT...

Zeev's size (6'0", 185lbs or so), is really not so different than players like Lidstrom, Potvin, Bourque, Leetch, Hughes, and so on. At his age, his frame is still in growth mode, so he should gain more strength. These all-time defensemen - hell, even throw in Desjardins and Timonen - played a strong positional game, not necessarily one where they are creating crease-clearing checks on the regular. Could they? Potvin, especially, but, he was a positional wizard first and foremost.

The typical NHL forward averages 6'0", 198lbs, today (vs. 6'1", 206lbs in 2004 - so, yeah, forwards are smaller, on average, today than 20 years ago). Zeev wouldn't be expected to be a top-pairing D-man out of the gate and may even have started the season in Lehigh Valley, working on gaining mass and strength through proper nutrition and training.

What am I saying? I'm calling BS on the "size" factor Briere espoused, especially when serviceable third-pairing 6'3" blueliners are seemingly available for a song on the trade front and/or open market.

 

[MrGuyPerson]

I posted the same thing twice... oops

 

[mr figgles]

I did a quick check, but 59 of 70 Norris wins were by guys 6’1” or shorter. I pray there was another reason, like he’s dumb as a stump.

 

[Hexxxy]

I generally don't wade into these types of discussions unless it's to drop in hilarious bon mots, BUT...

Zeev's size (6'0", 185lbs or so), is really not so different than players like Lidstrom, Potvin, Bourque, Leetch, Hughes, and so on. At his age, his frame is still in growth mode, so he should gain more strength. These all-time defensemen - hell, even throw in Desjardins and Timonen - played a strong positional game, not necessarily one where they are creating crease-clearing checks on the regular. Could they? Potvin, especially, but, he was a positional wizard first and foremost.

The typical NHL forward averages 6'0", 198lbs, today (vs. 6'1", 206lbs in 2004 - so, yeah, forwards are smaller, on average, today than 20 years ago). Zeev wouldn't be expected to be a top-pairing D-man out of the gate and may even have started the season in Lehigh Valley, working on gaining mass and strength through proper nutrition and training.

What am I saying? I'm calling BS on the "size" factor Briere espoused, especially when serviceable third-pairing 6'3" blueliners are seemingly available for a song on the trade front and/or open market.

I did a quick check, but 59 of 70 Norris wins were by guys 6’1” or shorter. I pray there was another reason, like he’s dumb as a stump.

exactly. it's a psy-op. no one should believe this was not to do with the agent or something else we don't know.